Stock-car



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

G. B. HERMAN. STOCK OAR.

No. 425,790. Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

(NO Model.) 4Sheets-Sheet 2.

'0; B. HERMAN.

STOCK GAR.

No. 425,790. Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

M58858: 4. dud

ATTOR/VEX (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Shet 3. 0. B HERMAN. STOCK GAR.

No. 425,790. Patented Apr. 15. 1890.

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UNITED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTOPHER B. HERMAN, OF NORWICH, KANSAS.

STOCK-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,790, dated April 15, 1890.

Application filed May 22, 1888.

To all whom it may concern} Be it known that'I, CHRISTOPHER B. HER- MAN, of Norwich, in the county of Kingman and State of Kansas, have invent-ed a new and useful Improvement in Stock-Oars, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is toprovide an Improved stock-car for the transportation of all kinds of live stock, and designed especlally for the convenient loading of the car, the proper balancing of the load, the feedmg and Watering of the stock in transit, and the general comfort and improved condition of the stock when delivered.

It consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the car, which I will now proceed to fully describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Flgure 1 is aside elevation of one end of the'car. Fig.2 is a horizontal section through the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section through lines w 00 of Fig. 1 and y y of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan view with the roof of the car removed, and Fig. 5 is a detail of a sliding shutter for closing up the car tightly in cold weather.

AA A, Figs. 2 and 3, represent a series of vertical posts arranged in the middle line of the car and supported at their upper ends by iron braces K K, which extend divergently upward and connect with the rafters of the roof of the car by means of screws, These posts are spaced far enough apart to form stalls for the stock running crosswise the car. To each of these posts are attached two fold- Ing doors or gates B B, said doors being connected to the post as a hinging point and having their free outer ends adapted to be either fastened to the sides of the car to form transverse partitions between the stalls or be folded back along a central longitudinal line, as shown by dotted lines, which forms two alley-Ways, one on each side of the car. These partitions are arranged about thirty four inches apart or just far enough apart to permit the largest sized animal to lie down, thus avoiding the necessity of stopping the train and unloading the animals to rest them. These doors are constructed in the form of latticework of vertical and horizontal strips of flexi- Serial No. 274,762. (No model.)

ble material, like rubber belting or leather or similar stuff, rubber belting being preferred. The horizontal strips are nailed to opposite sides of the post A, and extend from the free end of one gate to the free end 'of the other, while the vertical strips are riveted between the horizontal strips.

The object in making these lattice doors flexible is to permit them to be rolled or folded into a smaller space than the radius of a stiif door,

which is very necessary in carrying out my method of loading, as hereinafter described.

Another object is to prevent the bruising of the animal from the jerking of the car in starting and stopping. These doors are fastened to the sides of the cars as follows: At

the ends of the horizontal strips forming the doors the material is bent upon itself to form loops at, and through these loops passes a vertical key-rod C, that also passes through a series of eyes or staples b on a vertical bar D, which forms a rigid outer end of the door to fasten it when closed or support it when open. These bars are secured to the sides of the car when the doors are closed by having their lower ends seated in rigid stirrups or loops E projecting from the sides of stanchions F, attached to the inner Wall of the car, while a corresponding stirrup or loop E is pivoted or hinged to the same stanchion at the top, so as to drop over the end of the bar D and secure it at the top.

. To prevent wild cattle from attempting to jump over the fiexiblepartitions, triangular guards L are arranged above each partition and are connected each to the middle post A, stanchion F, and the roof-rafter, which guards also serve to strengthen and brace the car.

On one side of each stall in the car is pivoted between the stanehions F F a feedtrough G and water-trough G both made as one, with a middle partition, which feed and water trough is arranged to be dumped, as shown by dotted lines, to empty the contents outside of the car. 011 the side of the car upon which these troughs are carried the panel of the stall is not slatted or open, but is constructed with a blind or imperforate panel, as shown at I, Figs. 1 and 3, the alternate panels I at the tails of the animals being the middle of its side.

open or slatted, The object of this is as follows: Most of the cattle shipped are wild from the plains and all are more or less timid'when on the cars, and when the animal is able to see through the slats of the car in front the passing of trains so terrifies the animals that they will back to the 'end of the stall and keep away from food and drink and so suflt'er from hunger and thirst as to involve the very objections which stock-cars seek to avoid; hence I make the front panel of each stall imperforated or perfectly blank, so that the animal cannot see through the side of the car and is encouraged to take its food and drink.

Near the bottom of the car upon each side of each stall are the lower troughs G. These are designed for hogs and sheep, and, except when such small stock is being transported, said lower troughs are turned up outside of the car, as shown in Fig. 3.

H is a hinged door at the tail end of each stall, through which the filth in the stall may be cleaned out.

- On top of the posts A and extending longitudinally through the car is a foot-board J, which, with hand-rails O O on the braces K, form a central alley-way or passage at the top of the car to permit persons to traverse the car, when filled with live stock, from end to end, so as to feed or inspect them.

Access to the alley-way is had through an elevated door R in the end of the car. On a level of this alley-way and at the head of each stall is a hay-rack M, andat the tail end of the stall and in a corresponding position is the water-reservoir N and grainreservoir N, Figs. 3 and 4:,separated by a partition.

The water-trough G of each. stall (except the end stall) receives its water from the water-tank N at the tail end of the adjacent stall on one side, and the feed-trough C receives its grain from the grainreservoir N at the tail end of the adjacent stall on the opposite side, and so the water and grain reservoir at the tail end of each stall is made to deliver water and grain to the troughs at the front ends of the adjacent stalls through spouts controlled by valves P, Fig. 3.

The operation of loading my stock-car is as follows, (see Fig. 2:) The car is formed with two entrance-doors, No. l and No. 2, about All the flexible doors B (except those between the entrance-doors No. 1 and No.2) are bent back, as shown by dotted lines, so as to form two alley-ways upon opposite sides of the middle of the car. One of the flexible doors B between the entrancedoors is left closed and the other is bent back one hundred and eighty degrees or parallel to the closed door. The two entrance-doors now communicate with the two alley-ways, and when two animals enter the car from the gang-plank animal No. 1 enters through door No. 1 and passes straight to the end stall and has the first set of doors B B closed upon him, while animal No. 2, enteringthroughdoor No. 2, passes to the alley-way. upon the opposite side of car, proceeds to the secf 0nd stall, andis secured by the second set of doors 13 B. The third animal, entering door No. 1, passes to the third stall, and so on.

Then the ends of the cars are thus filled, the twostalls opposite doors N o. 1 and No. 2 are then' filled, and for this purpose door No. 1 is closed by the usual slide from the outside, and an animal is driven into door No. 2 and is made to turn into the next stall with his head next to door No. 1, and, the partition being closed on him, another animal is then driven in door No. 2 and the latter closed as soon as his bodyis within the stall. It will thus be seen that in this method of loading each animal is obliged to move straight ahead to his stall without any opportunity to dart sidewise or attack the drivers, and the animals are loaded with head andtail alternating, so as to balance the car and make it bear equally upon both sides of the truck.

To close in my stock-car in cold winter weather, so as to protectthe stock, I employ at the tail end of each stall a sliding shutter and openings correspond to the openings and slats of the side of the car, and which shutter is arranged to have'an adjustment in vertical the openings in the sides of the car when a tight or close car is required.

I am' aware that the general features of my invention are not, broadly, new, and I there- S, Fig. 5, made of sheet metal, and whose bars fore only claim my peculiar construction and arrangement of parts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a stock-car, of a central row of posts A, having gates B hinged thereto, a longitudinal foot-board J, arranged K, extending therefrom to the roof of the car, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, in a stock-car, of a central row of posts A, having flexible gates B hinged thereto, a longitudinal foot-board J, arranged upon the top of the posts, braces K, extending therefrom to the roof of the car, receptacles M N, for food and drink, arranged in the upper corners of the car, triangular guards L, filling the spaces between the receptacles and the braces, and feed-troughs arranged in the stalls and connected with the receptacles for food and drink, substantially as shown and described. r a

3. The combination, with a stock-car having a series of transverse partitions, of a series of food and water troughs G and G arranged at the head of each stall, and a series upon the top of the row of posts, and braces of grain and water reservoirs N N, arranged adjacent stalls, substantially as and for the at the tail of each stall, the heads of the stalls purpose described. being alternately reversed, and the grain and Water reservoirs at the tail of each stall being CHRISTOPHER HERMAN 5 provided with spouts arranged to deliver their YVitnesses:

contents into the grain and Water compart- SOLON O. KEMON, ments of the troughs at the head of the next CHAS. A. PETTIT. 

